Construction kit for the erection of storage and display structures of varying dimensions in the form of shelves, cupboards, display cases and the like

ABSTRACT

There is provided a construction kit for the erection of storage and display structures, such as shelves, cupboards, display cases and the like, of varying dimensions. The kit comprises a number of main elongate sections divided into three groups. A first group is intended to form legs and vertical suspension supports of said structure. A second group form horizontal long-side bars of the structure, while the third group form horizontal shortside bars thereof. The section bars of the three groups are provided with recesses of determined shape and size, thereby to enable the section bars of said groups to be detachably assembled into a closely knit, stable structure without the need of such securing devices as screws, nails, brackets and the like.

United States Patent [191 Hultenby et al.

[451 May 27, 1975 CONSTRUCTION KIT FOR THE ERECTION OF STORAGE AND DISPLAY STRUCTURES OF VARYING DIMENSIONS IN THE FORM OF SHELVES, CUPBOARDS, DISPLAY CASES AND THE LIKE [76] Inventors: Gladys E. K. Hultenby,

Vasterlanggatan 58, 111 29 Stockholm; Patric C-O. Hellberg, Jakobsbergsgatan 5, 111 44 Stockholm, both of Sweden [22] Filed: Dec. 27, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 428,679

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 28, 1972 Sweden 17078/72 [52] US. Cl. 211/118; 211/177; 52/664 [51] Int. Cl? A47F 5/08 [58] Field of Search 211/177, 182, 148, 118;

Austria 211/177 Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-Robert A. Hafer Attorney, Agent, or Firm-F1eit & Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT There is provided a construction kit for the erection of storage and display structures, such as shelves, cupboards, display cases and the like, of varying dimensions. The kit comprises a number of main elongate sections divided into three groups. A first group is intended to form legs and vertical suspension supports of said structure. A second group form horizontal long-side bars of the structure, while the third group form horizontal shortside bars thereof. The section bars of the three groups are provided with recesses of determined shape and size, thereby to enable the section bars of said groups to be detachably assembled into a closely knit, stable structure without the need of such securing devices as screws, nails, brackets and the like.

12 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures FATENTEU AF'AY27 I975 SHEET PATENT MAY 2 71975 sum CONSTRUCTION KIT FOR THE ERECTION OF STORAGE AND DISPLAY STRUCTURES OF VARYING DIMENSIONS IN THE FORM OF SI-IELVES, CUPBOARDS, DISPLAY CASES AND THE LIKE The present invention relates to a construction kit for the erection of storage and display structures of varying dimensions in the form of shelves, cupboards, display cases and the like.

Shops, storage rooms, warehouses, industrial stores and similar places where goods are put on display or stored, all require some form of structure on which the goods can be placed or hung so as to be readily acccssable and observable. For example, clothes shops and show windows often lack practical means for hanging and displaying goods therein which can be quickly adapted in a flexible manner to the space required by the goods, to their varying sizes and to suit the desired appearance of the goods on display. There is consequently a need for a storage and display structure of the type envisaged which can be readily assembled and which can be conveniently rebuilt to suit the display and storage of goods of varying dimensions.

The same requirements are found in industrial storage rooms, warehouses etc. in those instances where the number of goods to be stored and the size and type of the goods varies. For example, as the number of goods stored increases or goods are removed from stored ranges or goods of greater size are stored, it is convenient to be able quickly to alter the storage or display space to constantly suit present space requirements. In such instances there is a need for storage and display structures which can be readily assembled and dismantled without the need of screws or like attachment means which require tightening when assembling or dismantling the structure. In order to satisfy all requirements regarding the flexibility of such structures, it is ncessary to have at disposal a pre-arranged construction kit which, with respect to the number of components contained therein and the dimensions of said components, permits the desired degree of selectivity when assembling said structure.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a construction kit of the type aforementioned with which the aforesaid desiderata can be achieved, said construction kit being mainly characterized in that it comprises a number of main, elongate sections of generally rectangular cross section, of which sections a first group are preferably intended to form legs or vertical suspension supports for the actual goods themselves or for shelves and are provided longitudinally thereof with spaced apart rectangular holes of substantially the same dimensions as the cross-sectional dimensions of all of said main, elongate sections, and of which main, elongate sections a second group are preferably intended to form horizontal long-side bars of the construction kit and are provided at least at the end thereof 7 beingdisposed on either side of a normal to said long edgesand having a width which substantially coincides withthe width of all main, elongate sections, and in that thedifferent support are arranged to be joined together in cross-like joints by mutual insertion of said sections in the holes and recesses disposed therein, and in that the support bars forming part of the construction kit are of different length, for example in accordance with a module system or the like,

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to an embodiment thereof illustrated diagrammatically in the drawing, further features of the invention being disclosed in conjunction therewith.

On the drawing,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a stand constructed from members ofa construction kit according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows an end portion of a ceiling suspension support according to the invention and, in broken view, a vertical suspension support for the stand in a position prior to the suspension support being connected to the ceiling suspension support, and

FIG. 3 shows at the bottom thereof one end of a section bar in the construction kit intended to form one of the long-side bars of said kit, and at the top thereof the end of a short-side bar co-acting with said long-side bar.

In FIG. 1 the reference numerals 10 and 11 indicate generally two parallel support beams or bars of crossshaped crosssection produced, for example, from extruded aluminium. Attached to the upper portion or flange 12 and 13 respectively of the beams is a number of brackets 14 and 15. The brackets are shown in dashdotted lines and are assumed to be anchored to the ceiling ofa room. The support beams 10 and 11 in the illustrated embodiment each have two horizontally outwardly projecting flanges I6, 17 and l8, l9 respectively capable of being used to support panels or the like placed between the beams, to screen-off the ceiling or to support light fittings.

Each beam 10 and His provided along the lower portion or flange 20 and21 respectively thereof rectangular holes or openings 22 and 23 extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of said beams. The holes or openings 22 and 23 are preferably arranged in uni- .form spaced relationship along said beams and, with the illustrated embodiment, there is suspended from two of the illustrated holes 22 and 23 in respective flanges 20 and 21 a pair of vertically extending legs or suspension supports 24. As will be seen from the drawing, the upper ends of the supports have arranged therein a tongue surrounding an L-shaped recess 25 which is intended to be inserted in holes 22 and 23 respectively and then lowered in said holes so that the portion of the beam located beneath said holes is receiveclin the vertically extending L-shaped recess and together with the walls of respective holes retains re spective suspension supports in a relatively stable position at respective beams. The vertical suspension supports are also provided with rectangular, vertically inwardly extending holes or openings 26 arranged in uniform spaced relationship along said supports for receiving cross bars or short-side bars at 27. The design of the cross bars is more clearly shown in FIG. 3.

As will be seen from FIG. 1, extending inwardly from one edge surface of the long-side bars 29 are recesses 28 arranged in uniform spaced relationship along said bar. The recesses 28 are intended to accomodateaddf tional cross bars provided with corresponding recesses arranged to fit into the recesses 28. The additional cross bars are intended for use when it is desired to bridge the distance between the two longside bars to form supports for shelfing or the like when goods stacked on the shelves require stronger support.

With respect to the individual design of the members of the construction kit from which the structure shown in FIG. I is erected, reference is made primarily to FIG. 2, in which by way of Example one end of the support beam is shown in perspective and in larger scale than in FIG. 1. The Figure also shows one of the vertically inwardly extending holes 22 in the beam 10. FIG. 2 also shows in broken view one of the vertical suspension supports 24, in the upper end of which can be seen the hole of the L-shaped recess 25 and in the lower end of which one of the vertically inwardly extending holes 26 for receiving one of the cross bars 27 is arranged.

At the bottom of FIG. 3 there is shown one end of a cross bar 27, in which there isarranged in the under edge surface thereof a recess 30 and in the upper edge surface thereof a recess31. Subsequent to inserting the end of thecross bar into the hole 26 in FIG. 2, the walls of recess 30 are intended to engage around the portion of the bar 24 located beneath the hole 26, as seen in the drawing, by lowering the cross bar in said hole 26. Subsequent to connecting the cross bar 27 with the suspension bar 24 in this way, the end 29a of the long-side bar having a recess 34 arranged in' the under edge 33 thereof can be moved down into the recess 31 in the cross bar 27, into abutment with the rear side 35 of the suspension support 24, to complete a supporting crossjointfWith respect to the end of the cross bar 27 shown at the bottom of FIG. 3, it should be noted that the two recesses 30 and 31 extending inwardly from the long edges of said bar are located on either side of a normal 36 to the upper edge 37 and the lower edge 38 of the bar.

In accordance with the invention it is preferred to form the different section bars from profiled sections having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, wherewith for the sake of convenience all bars, with the exception of beams 10 and 11, have the same cross-sectional shape and cross-sectional size. Further, the rectangular holes and recesses have a width which substantially coincides with the thickness or cross width of the main, elongate sections. It is assumed, however, that some allowance is made for clearance in the holes and recesses to permit the different members to be joined or pushed together.

One of the special advantages afforded by the invention is that by means of the respective holes and edge recesses'it is possible to join together, for example, the suspension support 24, the longside bars 29 and the cross bars 27, as shown in FIG. 2, in a knot-like joint, where the different bars support against each other so that the structure formed from the members of the construction kit is stable, despite the fact that the members are only loosely joined together.

The construction kit of the present invention can have the form of a module system or the like in which there is provided long-side bars, cross bars, suspension supports in different lengths to suit different requirements, thereby enabling the structure to be constantly changed to suit the dimensions required at any mo- I cross bars referred to in the aforegoing are inter- 1 changeable, so that a cross bar maybe arrangedto fulfil the funct1on of a long-side bar and vice versa, depending on the length of the sections used in each group to detachable shelves placed thereon, the depth of each.

recess 31 in the cross bar 27 is adaptedto the depthof the recess 34 in the long-side bar 29 so that the sum of the depth measurements substantially coincides with the cross width of the main sections. There is nothing to prevent the depth of the recess 31 and the recess 34 1 from being the same, although in certain cases a better support is obtained at the knot-like joints if the dept of the co-acting recesses are different.

The members of the construction kit according to the invention may, of course, be made from a wide number of different materials, such as plastics, wood, fibre etc.,

although with respect to the durability of the structure and not least to the strength and stability thereof it is preferred that the members are made of metal,preferably aluminium or alloys thereof. Although in accordance with the invention it is preferred to use the. same cross-sectional shape for all main, elongate sections the invention is not restricted to such preference but assumes the freedom of choice with respect to the dimensions of said sections when modifications to the function of said sections result in equivalence. with the aforementioned main, elongate sections having exactly coinciding cross-sectional shapes.

The invention is not restricted to the illustrated and described embodiment thereof, but can be modified within the scope of the accompanying claims.

We claim: I

1. A collapsible structure for use as a storage or display rack comprising a plurality of elongated main bars of substantially identical rectangular cross-section including in combination at least four vertical suspension supports each having at least one rectangular hole which corresponds to the rectangular cross-section of the main bars, two first horizontal elements which are provided at each end thereof with a downwardly opening recess having a width that corresponds to the thickness of the main bars, and two second horizontal elements which are provided at each end thereof with a downwardly opening recess and an upwardly opening recess, both last mentioned recesses having a width that corresponds to the thickness of the main bars and being positioned on opposite sides of a line perpendicular to. said second horizontal element, the downwardly opening recess at each of said second horizontal elements engaged in the rectangular hole ofa vertical suspension support and the downwardly opening recess at each end of said first horizontal elements engaged in the upwardly opening recess of a secondhorizontal element and the end of each first horizontal element in contact with a corresponding vertical suspension support adja-I cent its rectangular hole in order to provide structural stability without additional securing elements.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the first and second horizontal elements have the long side of their rectangular cross-section in the vertical direction, and the end of each first horizontal element along one vertical side thereof being in full flush contact with the corresponding vertical suspension support on both sides of the rectangular hole therein.

3. The collapsible structure of claim 1 including a plurality of cross stays interfittingly engaging recesses positioned along the top longitudinal edge of said first horizontal elements, said recesses having substantially the same width as the thickness of the first horizontal elements.

4. The collapsible structure of claim 1 wherein the combined depth of the mating recesses of said first and second horizontal elements is substantially equal to the cross width of the main bars.

5. A tie-joint for a vertical support member and two horizontal members having substantially identical rectangular cross-section width and length used in collapsible display or storage structures or the like which comprises a vertically disposed hole through the width dimension of the vertical support member which corresponds in size to the rectangular cross-section of the three members, a downwardly opening vertical recess and an upwardly opening vertical recess in one horizontal member, each recess having a width equal to the width dimension of the three members and horizontally offset from each other by which one side edge of each recess coincides with a plane perpendicular to said one horizontal member, said downwardly opening recess engaged within the vertical hole of the support member, and said upwardly opening recess engaging a mating downwardly opening vertical recess in the other horizontal member, the combined depth of the up wardly opening recess of the said one horizontal member and the downwardly opening recess of the other horizontal member equal to the length dimension of the members so that when assembled the horizontal members lie in the same plane and a lengthwise side face of the other horizontal member adjacent its recess is in flush contact with a side face of the vertical support member on both sides of its rectangular hole in order to provide stability to the tie-joint without additional securing means.

6. A collapsible structure adapted for use as a display support rack comprising: a plurality of elongated main bars of identical cross-sectional dimensions comprising a first group of main bars being vertical supporting bars having holes therein, a second group of main bars being horizontal cross-bars for engaging the vertical bars and having recesses in both vertically disposed faces thereof, a third groups of main bars being side bars for supporting shelving and having recesses in one vertically disposed face thereof, said main bars interfitting to form a plurality of equilevel tie-joints for stably supporting the structure; the end of each first horizontal cross-bar in contact with a corresponding vertical supporting bar adjacent its hole is order to provide structural staliblity and a plurality of supporting beams having holes therein for interfitting with said vertical supporting bars.

7. The collapsible structure of claim 6 wherein said main bars are made of aluminum.

8. The collapsible structure of claim 6 wherein said vertical supporting bars include means for matingly engaging said support beams.

9. The collapsible structure of claim 8 wherein the mating means includes a tongue surrounding an L- shaped recess for engaging the holes in said support beams.

10. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including brackets on said support beams for attaching said structure to a ceiling.

11. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including means for attaching said vertical bars to a floor.

12. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including flanges on said support beams for engaging a ceiling.

l l l 

1. A collapsible structure for use as a storage or display rack comprising a plurality of elongated main bars of substantially identical rectangular cross-section including in combination at least four vertical suspension supports each having at least one rectangular hole which corresponds to the rectangular cross-section of the main bars, two first horizontal elements which are provided at each end thereof with a downwardly opening recess having a width that corresponds to the thickness of the main bars, and two second horizontal elements which are provided at each end thereof with a downwardly opening recess and an upwardly opening recess, both last mentioned recesses having a width that corresponds to the thickness of the main bars and being positioned on opposite sides of a line perpendicular to said second horizontal element, the downwardly opening recess at each of said second horizontal elements engaged in the rectangular hole of a vertical suspension support and the downwardly opening recess at each end of said first horizontal elements engaged in the upwardly opening recess of a second horizontal element and the end of each first horizontal element in contact with a corresponding vertical suspension support adjacent its rectangular hole in order to provide structural stability without additional securing elements.
 2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the first and second horizontal elements have the long side of their rectangular cross-section in the vertical direction, and the end of each first horizontal element along one vertical side thereof being in full flush contact with the corresponding vertical suspension support on both sides of the rectangular hole therein.
 3. The collapsible structure of claim 1 including a plurality of cross stays interfittingly engaging recesses positioned along the top longitudinal edge of said first horizontal elements, said recesses having substantially the same width as the thickness of the first horizontal elements.
 4. The collapsible structure of claim 1 wherein the combined depth of the mating recesses of said first and second horizontal elements is substantially equal To the cross width of the main bars.
 5. A tie-joint for a vertical support member and two horizontal members having substantially identical rectangular cross-section width and length used in collapsible display or storage structures or the like which comprises a vertically disposed hole through the width dimension of the vertical support member which corresponds in size to the rectangular cross-section of the three members, a downwardly opening vertical recess and an upwardly opening vertical recess in one horizontal member, each recess having a width equal to the width dimension of the three members and horizontally offset from each other by which one side edge of each recess coincides with a plane perpendicular to said one horizontal member, said downwardly opening recess engaged within the vertical hole of the support member, and said upwardly opening recess engaging a mating downwardly opening vertical recess in the other horizontal member, the combined depth of the upwardly opening recess of the said one horizontal member and the downwardly opening recess of the other horizontal member equal to the length dimension of the members so that when assembled the horizontal members lie in the same plane and a lengthwise side face of the other horizontal member adjacent its recess is in flush contact with a side face of the vertical support member on both sides of its rectangular hole in order to provide stability to the tie-joint without additional securing means.
 6. A collapsible structure adapted for use as a display support rack comprising: a plurality of elongated main bars of identical cross-sectional dimensions comprising a first group of main bars being vertical supporting bars having holes therein, a second group of main bars being horizontal cross-bars for engaging the vertical bars and having recesses in both vertically disposed faces thereof, a third groups of main bars being side bars for supporting shelving and having recesses in one vertically disposed face thereof, said main bars interfitting to form a plurality of equilevel tie-joints for stably supporting the structure; the end of each first horizontal cross-bar in contact with a corresponding vertical supporting bar adjacent its hole is order to provide structural staliblity and a plurality of supporting beams having holes therein for interfitting with said vertical supporting bars.
 7. The collapsible structure of claim 6 wherein said main bars are made of aluminum.
 8. The collapsible structure of claim 6 wherein said vertical supporting bars include means for matingly engaging said support beams.
 9. The collapsible structure of claim 8 wherein the mating means includes a tongue surrounding an L-shaped recess for engaging the holes in said support beams.
 10. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including brackets on said support beams for attaching said structure to a ceiling.
 11. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including means for attaching said vertical bars to a floor.
 12. The collapsible structure of claim 6 including flanges on said support beams for engaging a ceiling. 